This practice has been found to be very useful for preparing polyethylene samples suitable for determination of density by Test Method D 1505, for quality control purposes, especially in a resin manufacturing facility where fast, reproducible, comparative results are needed. It is not necessarily recommended for resin specifications which may be a part of a sales contract between the buyer and the seller.
The density of a polyethylene sample is highly dependent on the preparation and thermal history of the specimens. The level of density results obtained by this practice of sample preparation differs from that obtained by other methods as described in Practice D 4703.
Before proceeding with this practice, reference should be made to the specification of the material being tested. Any test specimen preparation, conditioning, dimensions, or testing parameters, or some combination thereof, covered in the materials specification shall take precedence over those mentioned in this practice. If there are no material specifications, the default conditions apply.